Istanbul locked down during May Day protests

Ozan Kose / AFP – Getty Images

Masked police officers take cover behind shields during clashes at a May Day demonstration in Istanbul.

From Turkey to Bangladesh, people took to the streets for May Day, a day honoring workers. NBCNews.com’s Dara Brown reports.

By Richard Engel and Lawahez Jabari, NBC News

ISTANBUL, Turkey – May Day protests in Istanbul turned ugly when Turkish riot police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who defied a ban on demonstrations.

Ulas Yunus Tosun / EPA

Protesters clash with Turkish riot police during the May Day rally in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Thousands of police were deployed across the city Wednesday, closing off the roads around Istiklal Street – a major pedestrian street that leads to Taksim Square, Istanbul’s version of New York’s Times Square.

Authorities had denied trade unions permission to march on Taksim, saying construction work there would make any gathering of protesters there too dangerous.

At least 28 people were injured in clashes with police, including an AFP news agency photographer, and 72 arrests were made, according to the BBC.

On a typical day hundreds of thousands of people walk down Istiklal Street – the most popular pedestrian street in the city, lined with 19th century buildings and full of outdoor restaurants, bars and boutiques.

Bulent Kilic / AFP – Getty Images

Protesters chant slogans as they stand at the windows of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey building in Istanbul on Wednesday.

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6.3 Magnitude Earthquake hits near the port city of Bushehr, Iran : 20 Dead Nuclear Plant reported as unaffected however due to the remote location this report is preliminary and awaiting verification.

The Iranian nuclear power plant in Bushehr Photo: EPA

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‘Devastating’ quake strikes near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, kills 20

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits near the port city of Bushehr, Iran, raising concerns about the safety of the nuclear power station located 11 miles south. NBCNews.com’s Dara Brown reports.

By Alastair Jamieson and John Newland, NBC News

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A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Iran’s only nuclear power station Tuesday, killing 20 people and injuring 500, according to one report, and generating tremors that were felt on the other side of the Persian Gulf.

The quake struck about 60 miles southeast of the city of Bushehr on Iran’s south coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Initial reports suggested the city’s nuclear plant had not been affected, but the southern province where the quake struck is vast and remote and details were not immediately clear.

Government news agency IRNA described the quake as “devastating” and reported that the 20 dead were in the villages of Shanbe and Tasouj. One hundred ambulances were being sent to the area from the capital Tehran, it said.

Earlier reports had the death toll at only three.

IRNA said Iran’s Red Crescent Society had sent five assessment teams to the area to coordinate rescue operations, and that helicopters from Fars and Khuzestan provinces were airlifting supplies required by rescue teams.

One Bushehr resident told Reuters by telephone that her home and her neighbors’ homes shook but were not damaged.

“We could clearly feel the earthquake,” said Nikoo, who asked to be identified only by her first name. “The windows and chandeliers all shook.”

 

Read Full Report  Here

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Horse meat found in Ikea meatballs, Czech officials say

 

Czech Republic officials say traces of horse meat were discovered in frozen packages of meatballs sent to their country for sale at furniture giant Ikea. NBCNews.com’s Dara Brown reports.

By Juergen Baetz and Karel Janicek, The Associated Press

Traces of horse have been found in meatballs labeled as beef and pork for Swedish global furniture giant Ikea, according to authorities in the Czech Republic.

The horse meat was found in one-kilogram packs of frozen meat balls made in Sweden and shipped to the Czech Republic for sale in Ikea stores there, the Czech State Veterinary Administration said.

It is the latest discovery in a deepening scandal over the discovery of horse meat in ready meals sold as beef in supermarkets in Ireland, the UK and other European countries.

Markus Schreiber / AP, file

Ikea furniture stores also sell typical Swedish food.

A total of 1,675 pounds of the meatballs were stopped from reaching the shelves.

Ikea’s furniture stores feature restaurants and also sell food typical of the company’s home country, including the so-called Kottbullar meat balls.

It was not immediately clear whether Ikea exported the same product to other countries. Calls seeking comment from Ikea in Sweden were not immediately returned Monday.

The Czech authority also found horse meat in beef burgers imported from Poland during random tests of food products.

Authorities across Europe have started doing random DNA checks after traces of horse meat turned up in frozen supermarket meals such as burgers and lasagna beginning last month.

 

Read Full Article  and Watch Video Here

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